IDENTITY THEFT

What is it?

Identity theft is when someone uses another person's personal information to commit fraud or other crimes. The crime can be committed in person, over the telephone, Internet, or through the mail.

Identity theft usually occurs when someone obtains another person's Social Security number, driver's license number, bank account number, credit card numbers, online passwords, personal identification numbers (PINs), date of birth and other personal information. With this data, a criminal can access the victim’s bank accounts and brokerage accounts, open a new but fraudulent bank account and credit cards, make purchases and obtain false loans.
In addition to the financial loss, identity theft can also damage the victim’s credit record. The damage is often expensive and time-consuming to correct.
To help protect yourself against identity theft, there are actions you can take.

Protect yourself online:

• Delete any e-mail without opening it if you don’t recognize the sender. Never respond to e-mails, open attachments or click on links from suspicious or unknown senders.
• Be suspicious of any e-mail, pop-up window or link that asks for your personal information, such as your Social Security number, account numbers, personal identification number or any other personal information or identification. Tomato Bank, N.A. would never ask you to provide or verify personal information in an e-mail or pop-up window format.
• Install anti-virus protection software and keep it current by using its automatic update features.
• Use a personal firewall. A personal firewall is a special program that helps protect your computer and its contents from outsiders on the Internet or a network. When installed properly, it prevents unauthorized traffic to and from your computer.
• Establish hard-to-decode passwords and change them frequently. Once established, protect your passwords.
• Avoid using automatic login features that save your user name and password.
• Never open any e-mail attachments, web links or files if you do not know the source is completely trustworthy.
• Never share your PIN or password.
• Be on alert for “phishing” e-mails in which the sender attempts to get you to reveal confidential information.

 Protect Your Property:

• Report all lost or stolen cards immediately. (For your Tomato Bank, N.A. Debit cards, call 1-626-759-9200 during business hours and 1-800-264-5578 during non-business hours.)
• Keep a separate record of your account numbers and important phone numbers in a safe place so you can contact the credit card company or financial institution quickly.
• Review your account, debit and credit card statements and report any suspicious charges promptly.
• Review your receipts, bank account, debit and credit card statements before disposing of them and report any suspicious charges, promptly.
• Shred all of your receipts, bank and credit card statements before disposing of them.

Protect Your Social Security Number:

• Don't print your Social Security number or driver's license number on your checks.
• Keep your Social Security Card in a safe place instead of carrying it with you in your wallet.
• Don’t give your Social Security number unless you know who is asking for it and why they need it.

Protect your mail:

• Promptly remove your mail from the mailbox.
• Do not put outgoing mail in your mailbox the night before pickup.
• Consider using Tomato Bank’s Online Bank and Online Bill pay to prevent mail fraud and save you time and postage.
• Pay attention to billing cycles and call if you do not receive an expected bill in a timely manner. An identity thief may have taken the bill from your mailbox to get the account number.

 3 things to do if you suspect that you’re a victim of identity theft:

• Call Tomato Bank N.A. at 1-626-759-9200 and any other financial institution where you have an account that might be affected.
• File a report of identity theft with your local police department. Keep a copy of the report.
• Contact one of the 3 major credit bureaus to report the incident. Ask the credit bureau to put a “fraud alert” on your file. Once the credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the other two credit bureaus will automatically be notified to put fraud alerts on their records. Credit reports from all 3 bureaus will be sent to you free of charge. Review your credit reports and notify the bureaus about anything that looks suspicious.

Regularly review your credit report from all three major credit bureaus to make sure that new credit card or other accounts have not been opened in your name. Credit bureau contact information is listed below.

CREDIT BUREAUS

Equifax - www.equifax.com
To order a report, call: 800-685-1111
To report fraud, call: 800-525-6285
TDD 800-255-0056 and write:
P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

Experian - www.experian.com
To order a report, call: 888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
To report fraud, call: 888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
TDD 800-972-0322 and write:
P.O. Box 9532, Allen TX 75013

TransUnion - www.transunion.com
To order a report, call: 800-888-4213
To report fraud, call: 800-680-7289
TDD 877-553-7803; fax: 714-447-6034; or write:
Fraud Victim Assistance Department,
P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92634-6790

Also contact:

Social Security Administration - www.ssa.gov/oig/
SSA Fraud Hotline (800) 269-0271

For additional valuable information about identity theft, visit www.idtheft.gov or call the Federal Trade Commission’s toll-free ID Theft Hotline at 1-877-IDTHEFT.

Also view the video, “Don't Be an On-line Victim: How to Guard Against Internet Thieves and Electronic Scams.”